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Kash Patel’s statement to testify in the US Department of Justice’s investigation of Donald Trump’s sensitive government documents, legal experts indicate that prosecutors are closing in on the former president.
Patel, a friend of Trump, has been given the death penalty for agreeing to testify before a grand jury about documents stored at the former Mar-a-Lago estate. president. The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. Former lawmakers and other legal experts said the move indicates the Department of Justice (DOJ) is building a criminal case against Trump.
Norman Eisen, lawyer and fellow Brookings Institution, said during an appearance on CNN Outside Patel entered into a plea agreement to avoid criminal charges as the DOJ continues to investigate whether Trump illegally removed government documents from the White House to his South Florida home. at the end of his presidency.
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“I think that’s where the bad news is for Donald Trump,” Eisen said. “Because it’s unusual to give this disease to a witness.”
The DOJ in August released a redacted version of the affidavit used to authorize a court search of Trump’s home. Patel, who served as chief of staff to the acting secretary of defense in the final days of the Trump administration, was furious at being named in the article, saying the investigation was politically motivated. .
The affidavit cites Patel’s claim that he saw that Trump had leaked documents from his home. Patel last month refused to answer prosecutors’ questions about Trump’s mishandling of government documents and invoked his Fifth Amendment right to self-incriminate himself. grand jury. The seasons.
Two The Wall Street Journal a The Guardian It was also reported that Patel agreed to testify after prosecutors released the autopsy.
But Stanley Woodward, representing Patel, said Newsweek in an email stating “We deny that any such action has been taken or intended.
Renato Mariotti, a legal analyst and former prosecutor, said in a Twitter thread that the DOJ had refused to provide information on Patel’s death to compel him to he had to swear under oath that his statements about Trump were false as the documents show.
THREAD: What can we learn from reports that former Trump aide Kash Patel is expected to testify before a federal grand jury?
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 2, 2022
Trump, who has denied wrongdoing, previously said he had destroyed the documents. Patel’s comments could undermine the former president’s defense, Mariotti said.
“This is a very common practice by federal prosecutors,” Mariotti said. “Often accomplices come forward to make false accusations, and to force those witnesses to testify they often admit the truth.”
Attorney and spokesman Tristan Snell said in a tweet that talking to Patel means “Trump’s fireball of text cases is starting to fall.”
“Patel’s testimony will encourage others to heal themselves,” he said.
Laurence Tribe, a former Harvard Law School professor, agreed.
“This will break the barrier,” he said in a tweet.
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